Adjustable Camber

[Olly666]

Hey all, just bought a Mach1 this summer and I know its possible to quickly adjust the front wheel camber on the handling package mach1 but I cannot find any info anywhere, called the dealer, the ford driving school, customer service and ford perfomance info/tech and they either dont know this car has this feature or tell me I should align it at a professional alignment shop. Does anybody know how to do it and if its actually easy to go between street and track camber ? Thanks

Sponsored

 

[Egparson202]

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/anybody-do-their-own-alignments.164059/

 

[shogun32]

I think OP is asking "where the hell are the camber plates"?
I dimly recall (or imagine) there was talk of the HP coming with the same camber plates the GT350 did, but a HP owner would have to chime in if they actually ever made the BoM or not. I'm thinking not.

https://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/models/mach-1/
still says "adjustable strut top mounts". Is this another case of it being shipped separately to dealerships (like the wheel flares) and nobody in the parts department is paying attention?

 

[gjbroder]

Hey all, just bought a Mach1 this summer and I know its possible to quickly adjust the front wheel camber on the handling package mach1 but I cannot find any info anywhere, called the dealer, the ford driving school, customer service and ford perfomance info/tech and they either dont know this car has this feature or tell me I should align it at a professional alignment shop. Does anybody know how to do it and if its actually easy to go between street and track camber ? Thanks

Just happened to see this in the manual.... See last page in the pdf.

 

[Olly666]

Just happened to see this in the manual.... See last page in the pdf.

I called that number today and they dont have any info on this adjustment. And I am definitely not qualified to make a car alignment and would bring it in the shop to get it done right with a standard pack but they really made it sound like this new strut tower assembly made it easy and possible for everyone to do it directly at the track. Thanks for the reply though !

 

[gjbroder]

I called that number today and they dont have any info on this adjustment

Oh well!!! sorry about that

 

[Olly666]

I think OP is asking "where the hell are the camber plates"?
I dimly recall (or imagine) there was talk of the HP coming with the same camber plates the GT350 did, but a HP owner would have to chime in if they actually ever made the BoM or not. I'm thinking not.

https://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/models/mach-1/
still says "adjustable strut top mounts". Is this another case of it being shipped separately to dealerships (like the wheel flares) and nobody in the parts department is paying attention?

They actually look adjustable from the factory, it's more to get an explanation on how to use them properly

 

[kz]

I called that number today and they dont have any info on this adjustment. And I am definitely not qualified to make a car alignment and would bring it in the shop to get it done right with a standard pack but they really made it sound like this new strut tower assembly made it easy and possible for everyone to do it directly at the track. Thanks for the reply though !

If you think there is a "switch" allowing you to adjust camber easily and accurately without any sort of measurement (which I think is what you think it might be) - then no.
Handling pack / camber plates allow for relatively easy adjustment but you at the minimum you have to measure it while adjusting to know what you are adjusting it toe (and then do the same thing with toe since it changes with camber).

You could technically mark it between two settings and switch between them but it'll never be fully accurate.

 

[Egparson202]

Alignment is like a lot of things. On one end of the spectrum it’s critical to maximizing performance and minimizing tire wear. To get the most benefit when the demand is super high, we need to go to great lengths. One the other end of the spectrum, it’s possible to sort of set it and forget it. If you find yourself somewhere in the middle, some simple adjustments and tools can offer a fair amount of benefit for a modest Investment in time and money. The trick is to figure out what your goals are first. Otherwise, the advise you get may not be for you.

 

[shogun32]

If you think there is a "switch" allowing you to adjust camber easily and accurately without any sort of measurement (which I think is what you think it might be) - then no.

true. But GM has actual engineers and they did just that for the Camaro. Street to track is 3 bolts, spin the center doohicky 180deg, re-tighten bolts.
Granted if you don't like the value of the 2 settings you have to resort to other means. An eccentric to add/subtract 1.5 deg to baseline would be handy.

Quick let me run over to USPTO and file that invention patent...

hmm, I was joking but maybe I shouldn't be so hasty to dismiss it. Been talking to Fortune Auto about their "borrowing" the Ohlins setup which doesn't work so hot on the Mustang....

 

[Fishtales]

I'm skeptical that you can adjust it accurately and that it will hold once locked. A nice feature if designed properly and fully mistake proofed. I'm not confident that it was executed well and didn't think it was worth the risk. Another strike against the HP for me.

 

[kz]

I'm skeptical that you can adjust it accurately and that it will hold once locked. A nice feature if designed properly and fully mistake proofed. I'm not confident that it was executed well and didn't think it was worth the risk. Another strike against the HP for me.

Your post makes zero sense. You prefer to not have any camber adjustment (which regulars cars basically have) vs. having factory installed camber plates that allow you to super accurately adjust camber, increase grip and limit tire wear ?

Accurate camber adjustment _always_ requires some kind of instrument to measure it - alignment rack or camber gages and flat surface. Camber plates in HP give you that possibility without modifying the car.

 

[Fishtales]

Your post makes zero sense. You prefer to not have any camber adjustment (which regulars cars basically have) vs. having factory installed camber plates that allow you to super accurately adjust camber, increase grip and limit tire wear ?

Accurate camber adjustment _always_ requires some kind of instrument to measure it - alignment rack or camber gages and flat surface. Camber plates in HP give you that possibility without modifying the car.

I'm questioning that you can accurately adjust the camber at the track, run the car and then set it back without any instrument. They give you the possibility but no way to set it accurately and be repeatable.

 

[NightmareMoon]

I'm questioning that you can accurately adjust the camber at the track, run the car and then set it back without any instrument. They give you the possibility but no way to set it accurately and be repeatable.

I was able to set my camber plates very accurately (and precisely) with some simple high school geometry with basically just a high quality ruler in my garage (before going to get an alignment). Don't ask me what my resulting toe was at the time tho, because I didn't have a way to measure it.

If you have OCD, then setting it at the track may not be for you. If you're hyper sensitive about your street toe being perfect, it may also not be for you. If your toe needs to be just so after your camber is adjusted at the track.. Again, not for you... But can you make a repeatable measured change and then change it back, actually yes its not terribly hard.

 

[shogun32]

An elliptical cam that has a index pin is absolutely repeatable. Ok maybe there is a variation of 0.1deg but that's good enough

Sponsored